


Unfair Games People Play

by Pandora (Anatheia)



Series: Remnant Hearts - Black and Blue RWBY AU/Persona 5 [1]
Category: Persona 5, Persona Series, RWBY
Genre: Alternate Universe - No Creatures of Grimm (RWBY), Alternate Universe - No Semblances (RWBY), Amity Arena is a Sport, Highschool AU, Multi, Shadows (Persona Series)
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-04-01
Updated: 2020-04-01
Packaged: 2021-02-28 21:55:29
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,608
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23424334
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Anatheia/pseuds/Pandora
Summary: Shadows loom over Beacon Academy--new students, abusive teachers--and a voice in the back of his head telling him to make his move.
Series: Remnant Hearts - Black and Blue RWBY AU/Persona 5 [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1685017
Comments: 1
Kudos: 2





	Unfair Games People Play

His head swam. Everything hurt. Squinting, he tried to see where he was--he could hear voices nearby.

"..working too well? Should we wake him?"  
"You overdid it with that injection--wake him up, now!"

Hands yanked him sideways, and he was suddenly blinded again as a hand smashed across his face. He could taste blood--his own.  
"Wake up, kid--or would you prefer a few more injections? Never talk again, hm?" The man gripped his aching jaw and shoved his head back. As his eyes tried to focus, he saw something on the wall--a small red light.  
A camera.  
The man holding his chin grinned. "You think that's gonna help you? You're not that stupid, are you?"  
He tried to swallow, but his mouth was dry--his tongue like lead.

"We've got you on Obstruction of business, Intimidation, Defamation, Blackmail--Illegal Weapon Modifications! Oh, and you actually killed people too, didn't you?" a voice near the door laughed.  
"That's a full course meal, kid! And you enjoyed every minute, didn't you?" the man holding him by the face asked.

He couldn't remember doing those things. Certainly never killing anyone--he was helping people, wasn't he?  
What...was he doing? His head was foggy, and suddenly, his arms were jerked hard behind his back. It was only then he realized he was handcuffed. The cuffs rattled, and suddenly his arms dropped to his sides, muscles burning enough to be felt beyond the agony everywhere else for a moment. It came again as his right hand was yanked up to the table, and something shoved into his fist.

Papers slapped onto the table in front of him, but there was no way he could read it. His eyes were blurry, one felt swollen, and his head rang still. Not to mention the bright light in his face.

Having his face shoved at the table--head slammed and cheek pressed to the papers--did not make him any more able to do whatever it was they wanted.

"Sign your name--it's your confession, you understand? There's no way you can escape here in one piece--not in your condition." He thought for a moment that the voice softened. It was somewhere between a command and a plea. "I'll put you in so much pain--make you understand--that _you_ have to pay for the things you've done--"  
The hand on his wrist tightened, but the one on the back of his neck eased up. He sat up--stared blankly at the paper until he could find the thin black line awaiting his signature.

"My...name--"

His hand lowered towards the paper--then halted as the door burst open, admitting an attractive but scowling woman with white hair swept into a knot at the back of her head.  
They all froze, and then she sighed a little.

"So...it was you," she murmured. Her gaze went to the officers around him, and she scowled. "All of you--out. I'm interviewing this suspect, and I haven't got much time."  
The officers didn't argue--they might have even hurried a little. She closed the door and took a seat at the table. Pulling the 'confession' away with one hand, she met his gaze with some worry in her face.

"Can you hear me? It looks like they worked you over--" she sighed, and he gave a slight nod. That hurt, and he closed his eyes for a moment. "This time, just answer my questions truthfully--I know that..." she hesitated a little until he met her gaze. "--Anything can happen here, and I'm unable to stop them. We don't have much time for you to give me the truth!" 

He would have nodded, but she didn't make him, instead opening her briefcase and tossing the unsigned confession into it.

"Why? What's your motive with this? Such a huge crime! These couldn't have started out as pranks--this was a skilled infiltration until it wasn't. I know I won't be able to put this on the record since no one would believe what I think you'll tell me."

He gave a small smile.

"How did it start? Where and when did you learn about that world? How exactly do you steal 'Hearts'?"

xxx

_"It all began that day... when the game was started half a year ago... For the sake of your world's future... as well as your own... you must remember..."_

xxx

The train bells chimed, and a woman's voice came from the speaker. "Thank you for using Remnant Railways--We have arrived at Vale Station--this is the last stop; Please disembark with all your belongings--"  
He was already pulling his black duffel from the overhead bin, before taking a couple of bags down for another passenger with a polite smile. The train emptied quickly and easily, but as he stepped onto the platform, he thought he heard a voice say his name. He glanced about but saw nothing, and continued out to the car park. 

\---

"Please--I won't say anything--" the woman's voice was pitched low, but the day was quiet and serene. He looked up from his scroll and took in the smallish woman, and the man holding her wrist. She saw him at the same time--her silver eyes met his sapphire ones, and then the man was facing him, scowling. "Please--help--" the woman said from behind the man with the mustache.

"She's fine--my wife is just being dramatic--" he snapped at the young man, who slipped his scroll into his pocket with a sigh.

"Sorry--that's not really gonna cut it, sir," he said calmly as he continued to approach. If the man hit him, the woman could run. That was fine with him.

"I'm warning you, boy--it's a mistake to interfere with my business..." the man's eyes narrowed, and the tall teenager didn't stop his approach.

"Let her walk away with me, and drive off, and I won't interfere. If she goes back to you, that'll be her business--but right now--this is my business, too--she asked for my help after all."

They stared at each other for a long moment, and the man abruptly shoved the woman into the open door of his car. She gave a small cry of pain as her head rang off the edge of the door and she crumpled to her knees, clutching her wound. 

The boy reached for her, and the man's fist came for his gut. With a sweep of his arm, the younger man shoved it away and brought his elbow up. It hit the man's face--and knocked him into the car. The side of his head impacted--leaving a cut next to his right eye that bled quickly and suddenly. making the young man back off.

"Ma'am--" he reached for the woman, but suddenly the man yelled.

"Officer! Help! This kid attacked us!" he barked, and the boy whirled in surprise.

"N-no--I--I didn't! I mean--she--" he looked down at the woman, and saw that their shared foe had a fistful of her red-streaked black hair. She gave him a sad, helpless smile, and he deflated a little.

"I'm sorry--" he said to her--and then the officers were roughly grabbing his arms--shoving him against the wall as they clipped handcuffs around his wrists. He got to watch the man smirk at him as he was loaded into the police car. 

\---

"Are you coming or not, boy?" the old woman's voice sounded crabby, but when he located the diminutive bespectacled creature in blue, she was beaming at him. "Oh, you're a tall one, aren't you?" she asked with a chuckle, and he grinned a little.

"Sorry, Mrs. Calavera--" he said, and she clucked admonishingly at him.

"That's MISS Calavera--but you can call me Maria," she offered, lifting her ornate walking stick and giving it a wave. He stood beside her as a taxi pulled up, and the trunk popped open. Tossing his bag in, he climbed in beside the woman who was to be his guardian for the school year.  
"LeBlanc Tea House!" she crowed cheerily. His scroll buzzed in his pocket, and he pulled it out. 

A notification--probably from his mother. 

But it wasn't--once he'd opened the scroll, he could see it was an app. A red and black eye, and below it said 'Metaverse'. With a frown, he tapped on it, it asked him for a name and a destination. With a frown, he closed the app--and deleted it before shoving his scroll in his pocket. The warmth of the car made him drowsy after his long trip, and he let his eyes close as Maria and the driver chatted pleasantly.

\---

_"...You are held captive."_

\---

"Wakey wakey, sonny!" Maria's voice startled him awake, and he blinked at her smiling, careworn face. He blinked a couple of times, then smiled back and climbed out of the taxi.  
His bag was already waiting by the door to a small tea shop. The old woman led him inside once she'd paid the taxi, and he blinked in surprise.  
His mother had said Maria was a family friend--and that he needed to change schools for a while, as part of his probation. She'd offered to take him in--His mother had sort of laughed, and said Maria 'had a thing for strays'. She went behind the counter, and gestured towards the back of the tea house, past the service counter and the display full of desserts.

"This is LeBlanc--I still make most of the desserts, but I'll teach you if you are interested. I won't pay you, though," she said with a measuring look. 

"Skills well-taught are their own reward," he replied without looking up from the array of delicate pastries in the case. "And--this is a very good skill to have. Who doesn't like dessert?" 

She laughed and nodded towards the narrow flight of stairs at the back.

"My hips aren't great on stairs anymore--it used to be storage, but it's got heat and light and power. There's a bed up there, and your things arrived yesterday--I made the delivery fellow carry it all up for me," she said smugly. "Go ahead and make it your own space. You can have friends over, but this is a tea shop, not an arcade. I expect them to behave appropriately!" Maria insisted, and he laughed.

"Don't worry--I don't know anybody at Beacon Academy, Maria--I'm just supposed to study and stay out of trouble--" he said as if repeating someone else's lecture to him. He lifted a hand and gestured to the little kitchen in the back. "And now I have something constructive to do with my free time!"

Maria laughed. "Go get yourself settled in, my boy--tomorrow, we'll have lots of running around to do!"  
He picked up his bag, and headed up the narrow flight of stairs, ducking his head a little on the way up.

\---

_"A prisoner of fate to a future that has been sealed in advance."_

\---

He stood in the rain, waiting for the shuttle that ran from the station to the Academy. He could walk, but they'd taken the shuttle before and he wasn't sure about going the other way. He would walk to the station after class to figure it out.

A girl was standing in the shelter for a moment--an attractive redhead with her hair in a ponytail. She carried a long case on her back--a round tube with a black lid. Even with a frown, she was pretty--he heard her muttering darkly at the rain as a car drew up to the curb. The window rolled down, and a man with a wide grin waved out the driver's side window. The girl's face went--blank--then she gave a pleasant smile and went to get in the car.

The grinning man looked at the unfamiliar teenager for a moment--and scowled as his window slid up. The girl put her case in the front seat--and got in beside it before he pulled away.

"Tch--that jackass--if he was gonna break the rules he could have taken all three of us," a voice said, and he looked over his shoulder in sudden surprise. In his pocket, his scroll trembled, and he pulled it out without thinking. The student was wearing the same uniform as he was--except instead of the shirt and tie he was supposed to wear it was a black t-shirt with a skull on it. 

"That was Coach Callows--and the pride of Beacon Academy."

"That girl is a student?" he asked, and the guy nodded.

"Yeah--" he frowned, looking at the uniform. "You're...the new transfer student?" he asked.

"Uh--yeah. Nyx Kenyon," he offered and extended his hand. The other boy blinked, but reached out and shook his hand.

"Mercury Black. Uh...you know we missed the last shuttle up to the school right?" he asked, and Nyx sighed a little.

"I didn't know that, no. Why was giving that girl a ride breaking the rules?" Nyx asked as Mercury nodded up the sidewalk.

"Well, it's sketchy as hell, for starters. But Pyrrha is the best so she deserves the best!" It came out sarcastically, and Nyx chuckled.

"What was in the case?" he asked, and Mercury laughed.

"Her Spear. She's the rising star of the Amity Arena," he explained, and Nyx whistled softly.

"Oh--she's that Pyrrha. The Invincible Girl--I thought she was from Mistral?" he asked, and Mercury laughed.

"Oh, she is--but Coach Callows had Principal Lionheart bring her with him when he took over as Principal last year. Since then, the cowardly shit lets Callows run the Athletics Department as he sees fit." A dark look crossed Mercury's face as he got to the top of the stairs first. "He treats it like his own private Collesium--and Pyrrha's his Prized Fighter."

Nyx's scroll buzzed in his hand, and he looked down with a frown. 

The Metaverse App was open on his scroll.

"Beginning Navigation!" the app intoned. Nyx frowned and made it to the top of the stairs as Mercury rubbed his right knee for a moment before they headed towards the large building behind the high white walls.

"Were you on the team?" Nyx asked, and Mercury scowled.

"What gave it away?" 

"Pretty sure he was scowling at you--not me," Nyx admitted, and Mercury laughed.

"Yeah--you'd think that, but there's a rumor that the new kid is here on probation--that true?" 

Nyx grimaced. "Not sure how it got out so fast, but...I'm not supposed to talk about it. That's how I got just a year of probation," he stated, and Mercury nodded a little.

"What you did--would you do it again?" he asked curiously. Nyx looked at the slate haired youth and smiled slightly.

"Probably--I'd just hesitate less next time."

\---

_"This is truly an unjust game... Your chances of winning are almost none."_

\---

It wasn't until they were through the gates that his scroll spoke again from his hand.

"Arrived at destination," it said as Nyx slowly tucked it in his pocket.

"School...looks a little different..." he said in a worried voice as Mercury stared in shock.

"What the hell--" 

They moved slowly into the courtyard, past the fountain--until they saw a pair of guards, both clearly armed. They both wore shining golden helms that hid their faces, though one was clearly female and the other male. The man was massive--too huge for reality--and clutched a heavy sword in one hand, with a shield on the other arm. The woman was armed similarly and though he was barechested they wore matching armor--ancient gladiatorial garb. 

In lockstep, they marched the length of the fountain court, turned to cross each other's paths--then turned and marched back.

"Hmm--yeah--seriously weird--let's get out of here," Mercury declared, and Nyx nodded as the guards noticed them. Turning as one, the duo advanced on the highschool students. They turned quickly to go back out the gates--but there was another pair of guards advancing behind them--guards from the gates.

Mercury's body shifted--and the huge male guard spun on one foot and kicked him in the chest. The air exploded out of him as he bounced across the ground--rolled--and hit the fountain clutching his ribs with a groan. Nyx chased him--got to his side and helped him sit up as the guards advanced on them.

"What the actual fuck?!" Mercury managed as one of the female guards lifted her round shield, and brought it down on the back of Nyx's head. 

\---

_" > But if my voice is reaching you, there may yet be a possibility open to you... ...I beg you... Please overcome this game... and save the world."_

\---

Nyx woke to the sound of his classmate's yelling.

"Hey! Let us out!!" Mercury yelled through the bars of their cell. Nyx sat up with a groan and rubbed the back of his head. He was started as Mercury walked back and grabbed his shoulder.

"Hey--about time you woke up! Those guards dragged us down here--locked us up about ten minutes ago." Mercury leaned forwards on his knees, one hand rubbing his right knee. "You okay?"

Nyx sat up and rubbed his head. "I think so--" he began, then fell silent as they heard footsteps on the stone corridor. A man in golden armor with a manic grin on his face stepped in front of the bars, and Mercury drew back in surprise.

"Callows--" he growled.

"Here I was, thinking the guards caught some petty thief in my Collesium--but it's just you, Mercury Black! How's the knee?" the Combat Coach grinned at him, and Mercury scowled.

"Hey, fuck you, man--" he snapped and reached for Tyrian's chest plate through the bars. The Coach grabbed his hand and twisted, and Nyx was suddenly at the bars even as Mercury screamed. His fist struck Tyrian's jaw, and he let go of Mercury's hand. Nyx pulled him back from the bars, into the cell, and Tyrian laughed.

"Oh, you got some fire, new kid--very well. We'll see how long it takes that flame to gutter locked in my prison! If you last the week, maybe I'll let the two of you fight to the death for your freedom!" He laughed and pushed away from the bars. He continued to laugh as he walked away from them, leaving the pair in the cell.

There was a minute of silence, and then Nyx spoke.

"What did he do to your knee?" 

Mercury laughed bitterly. "He fucking destroyed it. Had to get a replacement--got me kicked off the track team--among other things. And now he's apparently locking us in his fucked up dungeon--"

\---

_"The key to victory lies within the memories of your bonds—the truth that you and your friends grasped."_

\---

"So...does this mean you _don't_ want my help escaping?" a dry female voice asked. They both looked up--and there was a small form crouched at the bars. Black and white--with pointed ears. 

A cat.

A cat that was standing on her hind legs, and picking the lock.

"Are you two real or not?" she frowned, looking at them through the bars with golden eyes. Her pupils were long slits, and her outfit had little coattails--and an actual tail wiggling behind her.

"Are _you_ real?" Nyx asked, and she laughed.

"That's still up for debate. I'm real--I'm just not usually a cat--I think," she frowned, and gave a happy meow as the lock popped open. "Come on, you two--unless you want to fight to the death next week?" 

Nyx rose and helped Mercury to his feet as well.

"The cat is talking, Nyx," Mercury muttered, and he sighed a little.

"I'd noticed."

The little kitty lady put a paw on her hip and frowned at them.

"Don't be so dramatic," she scolded. Mercury shrugged, and they followed her out of the cell. "Come on--I'll show you two clowns where the exit is," she stated, and led them down the stone corridor. Around them, they could see other students in cells--some curled up weeping, others shuffling along the floors, walking in circles.

"Shouldn't we help them?" Nyx asked, and the cat shrugged. 

"They're just the random cognitions of Tyrian Callows," she stated as if that made some kind of sense. When they were silent, she sighed. "Think of it this way--he thinks those cells should be full--so they are. But he had room for more prisoners--so there was an empty cell for you."

"What was he thinking of to make you?" Mercury asked, and she whirled, tail fluffed and ears laid so flat they vanished into her curly mane of hair.

"I'm not _his_ \-- I'm real! I'm me! I'm--" she fell silent, and turned her back again, her tail still stiff. "I'm going to leave you two behind if you don't shut up!" she snapped, and Nyx flushed a little.

"Sorry--um--what should we...call you?" 

The little figure slowed and then halted.

"I'm--not sure. I don't...remember my name? I know if I just--keep going--I'll find what I'm looking for," she almost trailed off, then turned and looked at Nyx with a frown. "I have some kind of amnesia, I think?"

He smiled a little. "Can I give you a name?" he asked, and she gave a blushing nod. His grin widened a little. "We will call you Belle--Cuz you are Beauty _and_ the Beast, yeah?" 

Her round face blushed brightly under her fuzzy white face, and she looked away quickly.

"Fine! That's fine! Let's just--go!" she said hastily, and led them towards the nearby exit.

"Oh man--I've never been so glad to see the sky--" Mercury sighed as he outpaced Nyx a little. 

"Are you coming, Belle?" he asked, and she hesitated.

"No--There's something in there that I need to get--it'll help me remember," she admitted, and he frowned. 

"Are you sure? What is it?" 

She shrugged. "I'm not sure what it is--but I think I can hear it calling me? Thank you for the name, though," she smiled. He nodded, and took a knee, offering his hand to her. 

"Thanks for the rescue. If you figure out who you are, please come to Leblanc Tea House and say hello?" he requested, and Belle smiled, shaking his hand with her small, dextrous paw.

"You'll be the first person I visit," she agreed, and Nyx rose. "Stay away from Tyrian Callows, you two. He's crazy, in case you hadn't noticed!" she said as they moved beyond the borders of the Cognition, and the Collesium exterior was suddenly--just a school again.

Mercury and Nyx stood quietly at the curb, and then Mercury sighed.

"We're so fuckin' late, man," he muttered, and they trudged warily back through the gate and up to the school.

At the gates, a now eerily familiar face grinned at them from the top of the steps.

"Taking a leisurely stroll, Mercury?" Coach Tyrian Callows smirked. His gaze flicked down to Mercury's leg, then back up as he cocked his head and grinned a little wider. "I guess that's probably your top speed these days, huh?" he asked, and Mercury actually growled a little under his breath.

Callows looked at Nyx, who tensed a little. "You're that new kid--the one on Probation. Well don't expect anyone here to cut you any slack because you're new--word's already gotten out about your delinquent past," he sneered and jerked his head to encourage them inside. Mercury went first, and Nyx followed.

As they passed him, Callows reached out and grabbed Nyx's elbow. The teenager halted and Tyrian gave him a cruel smirk. "Detention, I think--punishment for your tardiness. We'll start with laps--build up that stamina so you can make it to class on time." He let go of Nyx's arm and let him walk away. 

"Didn't take you long to screw up, did it?"

\---

Nyx was seated behind the Pride of Beacon in class--their harried and attractive blonde teacher snapping her way irritably through lectures and lessons. Mercury was in his class--they'd exchanged contact info in the halls and now silent chat notifications went off in his pocket. After class, his new friend seemed to be gone, but there were a few messages from the new contact.

He found his way up to the roof after asking a girl for directions. She'd looked nervous as she gave them and he tried to give her a reassuring smile. Obviously she'd heard the rumors about him--Nyx had been hearing whispers since the first break.

"I like your hairpin," he said as he walked away. The girl gasped, her hand coming up to touch the silver and blue treble clef holding her black hair off her face.

"Oh--um--thank you!" she stammered in surprise as he pushed through the door to the rooftop and put the girl out of his mind.

"Hey--we should hurry and head for the practice yard. I don't know about you, but I have 'laps'," Nyx sighed, and Mercury grimaced.

"Push-ups--at least until Callows decides I need an elbow replacement. I just--was thinking," her sighed. "You think he remembers?"

"If he does, he's the best actor I've ever seen. But if he tries to make us kill each other in detention I guess we'll have our answer?" Nyx suggested, and Mercury sighed.

"Yeah--and if we don't get down there he really will make us fight each other." He grabbed his bag and led Nyx back inside, headed for the practice field.

Nyx's shoulders heaved as he vomited what little of his lunch remained in his stomach into the toilet. Behind him, a young man who Coach Callows called 'Jauney-boy' stood holding a towel and a bottle of water.

"First time, huh?" the young man asked as he offered the water. Nyx took it, rinsed his mouth and spat in the bowl. Breathless, he leaned back against the wall of the stall and took an actual drink.

"You say that like this is normal?" Nyx managed, and the blond squatted across from him with a laugh.

"Here? Yeah--pretty normal for your first day. Coach Callows expects the best--if you aren't the best, you spend a lot of time holding towels and throwing up," he stated. "I'm Jaune, by the way. Jaune Arc. I'm...on the Amity team as Support."

"How does one 'support' an Arena team?" Nyx asked, and Jaune perked up a little.

"Oh, you know--towels, water--I usually keep a couple of extra hair ties for her ponytail--carry her shield case and stuff--" he listed off, then fell silent when Nyx lifted a brow.

"Are you...Pyrrha's assistant?" 

Jaune flushed. "Um...she calls me her 'training partner'," he said with a sigh, and Nyx nodded.

"Does Callows make her run until she pukes?" he asked as he took another mouthful of water. Jaune was quiet for a moment.

"No--not her. She's his--the 'Pride of Beacon'. Pyrrha's his Golden Champion--the Invincible Girl."

They sat in silence for a moment as Nyx drained the water bottle, and flushed the toilet with one foot before he got up.

"That guy's an animal," he muttered, and Jaune laughed.

"Yeah--Welcome to Beacon, Nyx."


End file.
